Snow and heavy rain hits Britain as White Christmas odds drop

Much of Britain is enduring snow and heavy rain as the odds of a white Christmas fell dramatically for major cities Newcastle, Manchester, Leeds and London.

The Angel of the North statue is covered in heavy snow as a bitter chill swept across Britain today (Picture: PA)

The south east of England, Northern Ireland and Wales saw snow fall on Friday morning and then throughout the day in some more northern areas as heavy rain brought by a low pressure system turned to sleet.

Parts of Scotland and northern England also saw major snowfall overnight on Thursday, with 6cm recorded in Glasgow. More is expected on Friday night and into Saturday as forecasters warned Britons of a brisk weekend to come.

England is likely to be covered by ice on Saturday as the mercury drops below freezing overnight, with weather warnings issued across Britain over the next couple of days.

Roads and pavements could be icy, especially in the evenings and mornings.

Forecaster Dan Williams said: âThroughout the weekend, anywhere could see snow, although as it will fall as flurries, it is only expected to settle on higher ground.

âWe issued a health alert to let people know that there could be icy conditions anywhere tomorrow and Sunday morning â including paths and untreated roads, so people should take care.â

A man rides his bicycle in the snow at Lyme Park near Manchester (Picture: PA)

On Thursday night and Friday morning, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, saw 2cm of snow, and 4cm fell in parts of Northern Ireland.Police in Cumbria urged motorists to take extra care after a layer of snow and falling temperatures created hazardous roads.Manchester Airport warned passengers to expect ‘short’ delays as around three millimetres of snow was cleared from the airfield.Now the odds of a white Christmas have shortened, with Ladbrokes offering prices of 5/2 in Newcastle, 3/1 in Manchester and Leeds and 9/2 in London, after a flurry of bets were made.

Over the weekend, daytimes should provide a little respite with fairly cold but sunny weather.

It will be a tough problem to escape the shivers in the north, though, as temperatures are not expected to get any higher than 4C (39F).